Christian Inversion of Jewish Nationalist Monotheism

Jesus was indifferent to the Jewish-Roman rivalry, but his movement bridged the divide between Jew and Gentile. It challenged Jewish pretensions, allowing Gentiles to share in the special relationship Jews claimed with God. Jesus spoke Greek, and the Pauline letters and gospels were written in Greek. Unlike the traditional messianic expectation of a David-like conqueror, Jesus promoted a spiritual, apolitical union based on personal conversion and reform. He had not studied the Jewish Law under scholars like Hillel or Gamaliel but was a disciple only of John the Baptist. In this reversed sense, Jesus could be called a ‘messiah.’ He preached a new relationship with the ‘Father’ and invited others to join this vision. His followers were meant to be a nation of priests, not warriors. By heroically living this ideal and revealing it to others, Jesus became the ‘messiah’—not only the culmination of God’s interaction with the Jews but with all humanity.